Archaeologists working on Sir Bani Yas, an island southwest of Abu Dhabi, have uncovered a remarkable sign of faith: a complete plaster cross dating back 1,400 years. The discovery confirms that the series of ancient courtyard houses on the island were part of a Christian monastery.
“This is a very exciting time for us,” said Maria Gajewska, an archaeologist with the Department of Culture and Tourism — Abu Dhabi. “We never had concrete proof [the houses] were inhabited by Christians” (Live Science).
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The houses were originally unearthed in 1992 alongside a church and monastery dating to the seventh and eighth centuries A.D. At the time, it was uncertain whether the two sites were directly connected. The new find changes that. During the latest excavation, researchers discovered a stucco plaque in the shape of a cross, nearly 30 centimeters long, in the courtyard of one of the houses.
“With that cross, we have now proved these houses were part of a Christian settlement,” Gajewska explained. According to her, senior monks likely lived in the homes, spending their days in solitude and prayer before gathering with their brethren at the monastery (Live Science).
Sir Bani Yas is not the only location of Christian presence in the Arabian Gulf during this period. A translated statement from the Abu Dhabi Media Office noted that Christianity had spread throughout the region between the fourth and sixth centuries, before the rise of Islam in the seventh century. For a time, Muslims and Christians lived together on the island until the monastery was abandoned in the eighth century (Live Science).
“This excavation helps us better understand the nature of life and the relationships that connected the inhabitants of the island with the surrounding regions,” said archaeologist Hager Hasan Almenhali (Live Science).
For Catholics today, discoveries like this remind us that the Christian faith was already bearing fruit in distant lands centuries before missionaries brought the Gospel to the West and beyond. These early Christians sought Christ in prayer, built monasteries in the desert, and left behind enduring signs of their devotion — including this newly uncovered cross.
The Sir Bani Yas monastery site is open to the public, and archaeologists plan to continue their work on the courtyard houses. Their findings shine light on a chapter of Church history often overlooked: the deep roots of Christianity in the Arabian Peninsula, where believers lived and worshiped long before modern times.
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